IIORSES. 249 



diseases are from the mother to the child ; the colt of a broken- 

 winded mare is almost sure to be unsound ; however^vell he 

 may look, it is almost certain that a severe test of his strength 

 or speed will expose some disease or defect which will greatly 

 impair his value. 



The committee feel constrained to say that the habit of too 

 early bringing out horses should be discouraged; it is cruel 

 and absurd to impose hard labor or much speed upon a young 

 horse. Many horses which would have been valuable, had not 

 their strength or speed been too prematurely and severely taxed, 

 have been foundered or destroyed by the vanity or foolishness 

 of their owners — and it is a fact worthy of notice that the 

 great speed of many of the celebrated racers was never known 

 or discovered until their whole system was completely de- 

 veloped. Childers and Eclipse did not appear until they were 

 five years old, and there. is no doubt there have been many 

 other horses which, if they had been developed by nature in its 

 own time and manner, that would have equalled these cele- 

 brated horses, had they not been broken down and destroyed 

 by early endeavors to exhibit great speed. 



Stephen P. Twiss, Chairman. 



WORCESTER NORTH. 



From the Report on Draught Horses and Mules. 



Exhibitions of animal strength have always been Viewed with 

 interest by agriculturists, a class of men eminently fond of the 

 practical and forcible. To the eye of a true farmer the working 

 horse, whose limbs are formed for toil, is a far more desirable 

 object than the race-horse, even though the latter be of pure 

 blood, and able to run a four mile heat in seven minutes, or a 

 trotter that does his mile in 2: 19|, like Flora Temple. 



Throughout New England, on many small farms, one good 

 draught horse performs all the work necessary in cultivating 

 the land, besides drawing the family in the " one-hoss-shay." 

 Those who wish to convey large loads to any considerable dis- 

 tance, find it better to use horses than oxen, though the solid 

 strength and patient temper of the latter render them very 

 . useful for doing rough work in a rough country like ours. 



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